Privacy Policy

Overview

American Water Works and its affiliates (collectively, “American Water,” “we” or “us”) are serious about protecting your privacy. We understand your concerns with regard to how information about you is used and shared, and we appreciate your trust that we will do so carefully and sensibly. This notice (this “Privacy Policy”) describes what information we collect about you, how we collect it, how we use it, with whom we may share it, and what choices you have regarding it. This Privacy Policy is incorporated into and is a part of the Terms of Use of the American Water Web site (www.amwater.com, or any replacement site, the “Site”). We encourage you to become familiar with the terms and conditions of both this Privacy Policy and the Terms of Use. By accessing and using the Site, you agree that you have read and understand this Privacy Policy, and you accept and consent to the privacy practices (and any uses and disclosures of information about you) that are described in this Privacy Policy.

What Information Do We Collect?

We may collect certain identifying information from or about you in connection with your use of or submissions to the Site (collectively, the “Collected Information”). For example, if you request information from us through the Site, you may submit your name and contact information, such as your email address, mailing address, or telephone number, to us. If you access your account or pay your bill through the Site, you may also provide information like your account number, credit card information, and bank account information. If you inquire about or apply for a job with us through the Site, you may provide us with information on your, educational background, employment history, or overall compensation.

In addition, we may retain the content of, and metadata regarding, any correspondence you may have with us or our representatives, regardless of the mode of communication by which such correspondence was made. This information helps us to improve the Site and the online media, content, materials, opportunities, and services that we feature or describe on the Site, and to more effectively and efficiently respond to both current and future inquiries.

As with many other Web sites, the Web servers used to operate the Site may collect certain data pertaining to you and the equipment and communications method that you use to access the Internet and the Site. For security reasons and to confirm the integrity of our data, American Water may combine components of this data with other sources of information which may identify you. Unless otherwise described in this Privacy Policy or our Terms of Use, such identifying information will be used solely for our internal business purposes. In addition, the information we collect may reveal such things as the Internet protocol (“IP”) address assigned to your computer, specific pages that you accessed on the Site or immediately prior to visiting the Site, and the length of time you spent at the Site. The purposes for which this information is collected and used include facilitating Site operation and system administration, generating aggregate, non-identifiable statistical information, monitoring and analyzing Site traffic and usage patterns, and improving the content and content delivery with regard to the Site and the online media, content, materials, opportunities, and services that we describe or make available on the Site.

Although, like many other Web sites, our site may at any time, in our discretion, use “cookies” to help us recognize visitors when they return to the Site or as they move among the different portions of the Site, we do not currently use cookies, or other tracking mechanisms, to collect personal or individually identifiable information.

While some aspects of the Site may provide information that is intended for children, we do not knowingly or intentionally collect personal or identifying information from children. We strongly recommend that children get their parent's or guardian's consent before giving out any personal information. If you are under 18, please use our Site only with the involvement of a parent or guardian.

How Do We Use The Information That We Collect?

In addition to the uses mentioned or described above, or otherwise described in our Terms of Use, we use the information that you submit to us to accomplish the purpose for which it was submitted. For example, if you submit your credit card information to make a payment on your account, we will use that information to make that payment. We may also use the information that we collect from or about you to analyze and improve the content, features, materials and opportunities that we make available on the Site, to notify you of changes made to the Site or new opportunities made available on or through the Site, to evaluate your needs and customize the Site content delivered to you according to those needs, to send you promotional materials that you request from us, and for other legitimate and lawful business purposes. If you contact us for support or assistance, we may use information that you provide or that we collect about you or your system for purposes such as verifying whether your system meets the minimum requirements needed to use the Site and our various services.

With Whom Do We Share Information That We Collect?

In addition to the uses mentioned or described above, or otherwise described in our Terms of Use, in the course of conducting our business, we may, as appropriate, transfer Collected Information, whether solicited or unsolicited, to our offices throughout the world, catalog and add such Collected Information to our databases, and transmit such Collected Information to our affiliates and contractors and, to the extent necessary to accomplish the purpose for which information was submitted, to other third parties (e.g., to the relevant financial institutions in making payments).

We may from time to time utilize a number of trusted business and marketing partners in delivering the online media, content, materials, and opportunities available on or through the Site to you. To the extent necessary for purposes of communicating with you or fulfilling your requests for our products or services, or your subscriptions to such media, content, and materials, we may share information about you with these business partners. We may also produce reports on Site traffic or usage patterns and share these reports with our business partners and others, but the information contained in these reports is anonymous and does not allow identification of any specific individual. Please rest assured that, other than as expressly provided in this Privacy Policy, any Collected Information that we obtain about you will be reported outside our organization only in aggregated formats and will not be distributed in a manner that will identify or be attributable to any particular or specific individual or company.

We may disclose information about you if we become subject to a subpoena or court order, or if we are otherwise legally required to disclose information. We may also use and disclose information about you to establish or exercise our legal rights, to enforce the Terms of Use, to assert and defend against legal claims, or if we believe such disclosure is necessary to investigate, prevent, or take other action regarding actual or suspected illegal or fraudulent activities or potential threats to the physical safety or well-being of any person.

As American Water continues to grow and develop its business, it is possible that its corporate structure might change or that it might merge or otherwise combine with, or that it or portions of its business might be acquired by, another company. In any such transactions, customer information generally is, will most probably be, and should be expected to be, one of the transferred business assets.

What Choices Do You Have?

When corresponding with American Water or our representatives, or when making a request for information or otherwise interacting with American Water or others through the Site, you choose what information to supply, what questions to pose and comments to make, whether you wish to receive further information, and by what method of communication such information should be delivered. Please take care to share only such information as is needed or that you believe is appropriate.

How Do We Protect Information Collected About You?

American Water takes commercially reasonable measures to secure and protect information transmitted via or stored on the Site and transmitted to and from the Site. Nevertheless, no security system is impenetrable. We cannot and do not guarantee that information that users of the Site may happen to transmit or otherwise supply, or that any communications or any electronic commerce conducted on or through the Site, is or will be totally secure. You agree to immediately notify us of any breach of Site security, this Privacy Policy or the Terms of Use of which you become aware.

Linked Sites

For your convenience, some hyperlinks may be posted on the Site that link to other Web sites not under our control. We are not responsible for, and this Privacy Policy does not apply to, the privacy practices of those sites or of any companies that we do not own or control. We encourage you to seek out and read the privacy policy of each Web site that you visit. In addition, should you happen to initiate a transaction on a Web site that our Site links to, even if you reached that site through our Site, the information that you submit to complete that transaction becomes subject to the privacy practices of the operator of that linked site. You should read that site’s privacy policies to understand how personal information that is collected about you is used and protected.

Changes to Privacy Policy

From time to time, we may change our privacy practices, and this Privacy Policy, because of changes in relevant and applicable legal or regulatory requirements, our business practices, or in our attempts to better serve your needs and those of our other customers. Notice of such changes to our privacy practices will be given in the manner described in the Terms of Use and a revised Privacy Policy will be posted on the Site.

Who Can You Contact For More Information?

If you have any questions or suggestions about the Site, American Water, or our products, services, or privacy practices, please contact us at the numbers or address given below.

BY ACCESSING OR USING THE SITE, YOU ACKNOWLEDGE THAT YOU HAVE READ, UNDERSTAND, AND CONSENT TO THE PRIVACY PRACTICES, AND TO THE USES AND DISCLOSURES OF INFORMATION THAT WE COLLECT ABOUT YOU, THAT ARE DESCRIBED IN THIS PRIVACY POLICY, AND YOU AGREE TO BE BOUND BY THE TERMS OF USE REFERENCED ABOVE.